Presented by H.E. Pok Than, Secretary of State, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

1. Elaboration and Implementation of a Poverty Focused Education Sector Strategy in Cambodia Forum on National Plans and PRSPs in East AsiaApril 4-6, 2006, Vientiane, Lao PDR Presented by H.E. Pok Than, Secretary of State, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

2. Outline of presentation • Summary of Education Reforms • Reform principles • Strategy Design Process • Key policy goals • Targets and indicators • The issue of costing and funding • Links between strategy and budget • Sector wide monitoring • Educational Outcomes • Institutional achievements • Challenges

3. Summary of Education Reforms • The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) began its reform process in 1999 and produced the Education Strategic Plan (ESP), outlining policy objectives and strategies in 2000 • This was supported by the Education Sector Support Program (ESSP) which outlined sectoral implementation plans to be implemented through Priority Action Programs (PAP) focusing on achieving key outcomes for the sector • These are 5 year rolling programs jointly reviewed and revised periodically

4. Reform Principles • The education reform process in Cambodia focus on outcomes rather than inputs • MoEYS leads the reform process but actively promotes partnership with donors, NGOs, communities and key stakeholder Ministries in order to adopt a shared vision and mutual responsibility for the reform process • MoEYS strategies are explicitly pro-poor and actively support increased decentralization of resources and planning, particularly to the school level

5. Strategy Design Process • Policies, priorities and targets were identified through extensive consultation with key partners • Partnership principles were developed and development partners were encouraged to form an education sector partnership to be collectively responsive • Key Ministries were consulted on both general issues and specific strategies • Agreed priorities and outcomes responded to and supported: EFA, CMDG, SEDP and NPRS goals

6. Key Policy Goals • MoEYS has 3 policy platforms: Equitable Access, Quality and Efficiency, and Capacity Building for Decentralization. Key policy goals include: • 9 years of basic education for all by 2010 • Abolition of basic education school fees • Operating budgets decentralized to schools, with 94% of funds reaching the schools (World Bank PETS survey 2005). • Equitable provincial coverage of high quality grade 10-12 schooling • Expanded private involvement in higher education with Government assuring quality and equity • Stronger decentralization including community involvement, transparency and accountability • Pro-poor financing, with main Government spending on basic education and assuring equity in post basic education

7. Targets and Indicators • Targets and indicators to assess sector wide performance were jointly agreed with partners • MoEYS has 63 indicators reflecting the pro-poor and gender-responsive strategies but this needs to be rationalized • Priority targets are based on EFA, MDGs, SEDP and NPRS goals

8. The issue of costing and funding • Royal Government of Cambodia has increased education share of government recurrent budget, which has risen from 13.9% in 2001 to 17.3% in 2005, with further increases planned • Priority Actions Programmes (PAPs) adopted a program budgeting approach to allow more accurately costing. This approach is soon to be expanded to all Ministry budgets • As a percentage of total education spending, donor support has decreased • However, there has been an increase in sector budget support directly providing to Ministry systems and priorities and helping to ensure sustainability • The ESP 2006-10 identifies resource shortfalls compared to MTEF projections of available funds

9. Sector wide monitoring • The annual ESP/ESSP monitoring and review assesses the extent to which policy objectives and targets have been achieved. This is a major shift from concentrating on monitoring discrete project and program inputs • The review process is jointly conducted with development partners and stakeholder Ministries • On an annual basis the review guides the development of the Ministry’s implementation program (in the ESSP) and guides the periodic revisions to the ESP

10. Educational Outcomes Between 1999/2000 and 2004-05: • Primary school enrolment has increased by over 21% from 2,211,738 to 2,682,129, with Net enrolment rate (NER) increasing from 85.5% to 91.9% • The percentage of female students in primary has increased from 45.8% to 47.2%, with NER increasing from 81.7% to 90.7% • Student enrolment rates have increased more than the national average in rural (23%) and remote areas (139%) • Lower secondary enrolment has increased by over 126% from 233,278 to 528,940 • The percentage of female students in lower secondary has also increased from 35.4% to 43.5%

11. Institutional Achievements Significant institutional achievements have been made: • Establishment of 194 Budget Management Centers at district, provincial and central level has decentralized financial management and reporting • Schools have annual operating budgets and increasing community participation in school development planning and management • Monitoring systems continue to be strengthened to further support these achievements, including the establishment of the Internal Audit Department to strengthen financial management and reporting • A strengthened partnership with development partners focusing on a shared vision and mutual accountability

12. Challenges • ESP 2006-10 highlights a shortfall in resources compared to MTEF projections of available funds. • Teacher and Education staff salaries are very low which demoralizes staff. • Student repetition and drop-out rates in primary have not decreased sufficiently and could undermine medium term EFA and MDG goals. • The most disadvantaged children remain very difficult to reach. • Quality of education remains a concern and the introduction of the new curriculum and testing National standards is a key priority.

13. sUmGrKuN Thank you.